Misplaced Words
by LizbethWritesWords
Summary: Damon Salvatore thought he had everything under control, a life as a big time lawyer in Chicago, money, women and few obligations. But one phone call from his father leads him back to the place that started it all, as he strives to make amends with those he cut loose, falling for one Miss Elena Gilbert on the way, who he allows in as his perfect world starts to crumble. AU/AH.
1. Chapter 1 - Breakfast at Salvatore's

**The first story I actually intend on maintaining, not going to lie I am incredibly nervous. If for whatever reason I don't update (which is probable considering I am frequently lazy) please feel free to pm me/review/hound me on my tumblr until you get the update you deserve. ( ask) Anyway, here you go. Enjoy:)**

 **Chapter One – Breakfast at Salvatore's.**

Damon awoke with a groan and a familiar pounding in his head as the sounds of laughter flittered through from the room next door. He lay for a few moments, engulfed in self-pity for both his hangover and the events which had led to his excessive drinking, when it occurred to him that he wasn't in his apartment in Chicago, but on an uncomfortable leather couch in the Salvatore boarding house. As he lay there in his hungover state he remembered, he was home in Mystic Falls for the Fourth of July weekend. If there was one thing to be known about Damon Salvatore's return, it was that he most definitely did not want to be there.

Groaning loudly again, with great effort he sat up and surveyed the room. It hadn't changed since he himself had lived there. Typical Stefan, he thought as his younger brother had taken over the house after his father had taken on a smaller role in his company and moved on to a smaller home in Mystic Falls. Again, his hungover mind meant he was struggling to think clearly and thus it hit him, he was about to spend the extended weekend with Giuseppe Salvatore, his idiot brother and whoever else his idiot brother had dragged along. A factor that contributed to last night's ours spent getting completely wasted in a bar with Alaric.

As Damon glanced down he realized that there was a glass of water and aspirin laid aside on the table, there was one person he thought would be so considerate as to leave that for him. The same person he realised whose laugher was currently contributing to his piercing headache, Elena Gilbert. Damon smiled softly to himself, before sharply wincing. Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so intolerable after all.

An hour later, Damon had showered and got dressed, the worst of his hangover behind him. Making a point to be loud, he climbed down the stairs and strode into the kitchen.

"Morning sleepy head." Came the voice he didn't realize quite how much he had missed, but seeing Elena, in casual leggings and a t-shirt for some reason made him smile a genuine smile. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, taking in her small form and her face which, even without makeup, was one of the most beautiful he had seen. Certainly more attractive than the many heavily made up women he had picked up in Chicago. Something about the authenticity of Elena's face made his heart beat a little faster, he shook himself mentally, before re-adopting his usual cool demeanour.

"Gilbert." He smirked. "Miss me?"

"Matter of fact I did." Elena said nonchalantly but as she looked Damon in the eyes she broke out into a grin and closed the distance between them, engulfing him in a hug.

"Good, can't have you forgetting who the best Salvatore brother is." Damon chuckled, releasing the small girl. "Did you spend the night?" he asked, wondering why she was stood in his brother's kitchen at 10am.

"Yep, you have enough guest rooms. Stefan and I spent the evening drinking wine and playing scrabble."

"Invigorating." Damon responded sarcastically, Elena rolled her eyes playfully.

"Say what you will, but I bet we both slept better than you who couldn't even get up the stairs. I bet we woke up happier too."

"Nothing wrong with having fun, Gilbert. As I remember you aren't always averse to drunken antics." He winked, causing her to blush, remembering some of the more stupid things the pair had done together. "Thanks for the water and the aspirin, by the way. You're right, my head hurt like hell."

"No problem. I'm guessing a greasy breakfast may also help cure you." Damon smirked once again.

"The girl gets it."

"Stefan's just left to go buy some eggs." Elena explained. Damon nodded, slowly some residual tension began to sink in, which Damon couldn't quite explain. Suddenly painfully aware that they were both stood awkwardly close after their hug, he broke the slightly uncomfortable silence.

"How about you and I go sit in the family room whilst we wait on the high and mighty baby brother Salvatore?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." She responded. Her smile faded slightly for a moment, she looked him in the eyes looking conflicted "He's missed you, you know." Those five words were enough to make Damon pause for thought, feeling guilt in the pit of his stomach. From the way Elena tentatively broached the subject, Damon was painfully aware that she must have also been collateral damage in his haste to leave Mystic Falls and the life he once had.

It was half an hour before Stefan returned, the stores evidently busy given the number of people arriving home for the holiday. Elena had explained the itinerary to Damon. Evidently his father and Uncle Zack were the other two Salvatores in attendance, and they would also be joined by Caroline who was now Stefan's girlfriend, but they weren't official Elena informed him. Elena's brother Jeremy and Aunt Jenna would also be attending as well as Bonnie Bennett and the one silver lining, Alaric Saltzman. Hopefully Alaric could save him from the painfully awkward tension bound to be evident upon dining with his father.

It caused Damon's insides to squirm whenever he thought about how he had ended things the last time he had seen his father, having stormed out after a heated row, taking the best bottles from his father's liquor cabinet and driving straight to Chicago. In hindsight, he probably should have behaved more rationally, but the phone call he had received from his father that had led him back to Mystic Falls, implied that the relationship was salvageable. Or at least, it was his last chance to salvage it.

After Elena had explained who would be attending tomorrow's festivities, she had filled Damon in on what the past couple of years had consisted of for her, explaining that she now worked part time as an intern for a Parkinson's charity, a disease with which one of her uncles suffered, the other part of the time she was training to become an elementary school teacher. It figured, Damon thought, that Elena Gilbert's career path was helping others, Elena had always been caring and nurturing despite him being seven years her senior. The age gap seemingly had become less pronounced the older they became. Somewhere along the line he had gone from being Stefan's older brother in Elena's eyes to a genuine friend.

Breakfast was odd to say the least. He had not expected Stefan to be so… welcoming. After Damon had left for Chicago he had gradually ceased contact with his brother, sick of all the phone calls being centred on the fact that Damon needed to apologize to his father. Elena's blatant lack of any hard feelings after the elder Salvatore had left, also unsettled him. He had remained in contact with her for longer than he had with Stefan, but as he got busier, and her own career resulted in conflicting schedules, the skype calls, the phone conversations and even the text messages had slowly ground to a halt, exchanging only emails infrequently. Honestly he felt a dull ache in his chest whenever he thought about how the window he had into Elena's world had closed.

He hadn't really thought about it before, but the hustle and bustle of his law career in Chicago had effectively ruined the strongest relationship in Damon's life.

With the two people he felt the most desire to re-establish a relationship with sitting before him eating bacon, eggs, and pancakes as though it was the most natural thing in the world, Damon felt it would be an appropriate time to let them know his big news, the same big news that had resulted in his return to Mystic Falls. Damon cleared his throat.

"I have something I need to tell you guys." Both Elena and Stefan looked relatively concerned both of their minds racing. It was no secret Damon lived a rather 'bacheloresque' life in Chicago, making big money in his law firm which he spent on fast cars, good bourbon and easy women, they were half expecting him to announce the existence of an illegitimate child. "I'm moving back for the next six months."

Stefan and Elena both looked at him with a mixture of emotions. Both looked surprised by his announcement, Elena looking pleased with the news while Stefan looked apprehensive, if not a little irritated.

Elena opened her mouth to congratulate him when Stefan cut in with a sharp "Why, Damon?" He looked at his brother as though he had just announced he had just had a shotgun wedding in Vegas after getting some poor girl pregnant, or something of similar concern. "Have you told Dad?"

"Woah, easy on support, little brother."

"Forgive me for being a little confused. I thought you were happy living with your immoral friends in Chicago and playing hot shot lawyer."

"I'm still going to play hot shot lawyer, just in a relatively calmer setting."

"Why?" Stefan deadpanned.

"Why not? Aren't you thrilled to be working with your dear brother?"

"Does Dad know?" Stefan repeated his earlier question.

"Easy, brother."

"Damon." Stefan warned.

"I'm sure our dear father will explain all at dinner."

"Wait, you aren't going to be working for Salvatore and Associates are you?" Elena questioned, having sat in awkward silence as the two brothers remained hostile, but spoke up now to try and avoid any argument progressing, recognising the two brothers had reached a stalemate neither of the two would back down from, thanks to the Salvatore stubbornness.

"That I am." Elena smiled in response.

"I'm sure Alaric will be thrilled you're back."

"More so than my baby brother, I'm willing to hedge a bet." Stefan glared. "Are you pleased, Gilbert?"

"Hmm." Elena mused. "I'm not sure I can deal with two Salvatore-"

"Enough." Stefan cut in, raising his voice slightly. "What aren't you telling me Damon?"

"Like I said, it's not my place to say." Damon responded cooly. "I'm sure our dearest daddy will let you know at dinner." He looked at his brother properly for the first time, dropping the sarcasm he was using as an automatic defence, uncomfortable with the situation. "Sorry, Stefan." Stefan nodded noticing his brother was being genuine but still stood up to leave recognising that the conversation had reached its end and not having the energy to draw out any small talk. Elena looked at Damon and smiled apologetically before rising and trotting after him.


	2. Chapter 2 - July 4th

Damon's eyes crinkled when he laughed. Not in an unattractive way and not when he was doing his coy 'I can seduce all of these women' laugh, but when he let out the true Damon Salvatore laugh, Elena noted. She and Damon had found themselves assigned kitchen duty by Caroline, who had arrived just after breakfast and had immediately taken charge of the preparation for the evening's meal and festivities. Neither Elena nor Damon seemed to be taking their roles seriously, supposed to be rolling the pastry round cocktail sausages for sausage rolls but instead flicking the flour at each other from opposite ends of the table.

"This t-shirt is Armani, Elena." Damon mock scolded, gesturing down at the once plain black shirt which now was covered in small clusters of flour. Elena walked towards him slowly, hands behind her back, Damon too preoccupied with rolling the pastry to notice.

"What about those jeans, Damon?" Elena sing-songed as his head snapped up but it was too late, as Elena had already released the handful of flour which now coloured his jeans.

"Right, okay you asked for it." Damon dug his hands into a bowl of red jelly and lunged for Elena who could do little but protect her face with her hands.

"DAMON!" She yelled through laughs, red jelly pieces stuck in her hair and on her t-shirt. In revenge she reached into the bag of flour and rubbed it in his face. "Truce?" She smiled sweetly. Damon spit some flour out.

"Truce." They shook hands.

Another half an hour later and Damon and Elena had succeeded in all of their assigned tasks. Elena surveyed the area proudly. They'd made sausage roles, prepared pizza bases, separated pizza toppings, put the ice-cream in the refrigerator for it to defrost, prepared a salad, iced the cake, and managed to find extra red jelly so they had red white and blue.

"Perfect." Elena smiled.

"I am." Damon nodded, the arrogant smirk residing on his face once again.

They were just about to begin to snack on the food they had prepared when they were interrupted by the younger Salvatore.

"Nuh-uh. I don't think so. Caroline has this all planned out. No one eats until everyone's arrived, got it?" He looked between Damon and Elena, both their clothes were covered in flour, Damon's hair especially had turned white. "Is that… jelly?" He asked stepping towards Elena.

"Damon started it." Elena said almost flirtatiously.

"Little brother, you believe me don't you? You won't let this cretin besmirch my name?" Stefan rolled his eyes.

"I thought you were supposed to be Mr Bigshot lawyer, not some sixth grader who starts food fights." Elena and Damon simultaneously burst out into pure, unfiltered laughs and Stefan couldn't help but chuckle himself at the sight of them. When Elena finally regained her composure she straightened up and looked at Damon.

"He's right we should probably get cleaned up." Damon nodded and held open the kitchen door for her.

"After you m'lady." For the second time that day, Elena felt a blush creeping to her cheeks as she passed him. It's just Damon, she reprimanded herself.

* * *

It didn't take the duo long to change and clean off the products of their food fight and soon enough Elena heard a short knock on the door of the guest room she was in. She opened the door to reveal Damon who had changed into a grey t-shirt and another pair of black jeans. She liked seeing him so casual, the only times she'd seen him over the last year and a half he'd been wearing some kind of expensive suit, although admittedly she had always seen him on skype at the end of the work day. She smiled brightly at him.

"Ready to embrace America?"

"You look like America threw up on you." He teased, she suddenly felt self-conscious about her outfit. She had opted for some short shorts with an American flag on them, a red t-shirt, some novelty USA sunglasses she had bought on a trip to New York on top of her head and some blue wedge heels. She thought it looked cute, but she was now concerned by Damon's reaction. Damon seemed to notice her change in demeanour and quickly corrected himself. "Not in a bad way. You look hot." He winked playfully.

"You don't look so bad yourself. Say, do you own anything lighter than dark gray?"

"It's part of this whole tall, dark and handsome thing I've got going on." She raised an eyebrow "Chicks dig it, you see."

"Oh do they now?"

"C'mon Gilbert, don't pretend you're immune to my charm."

"I've had my vaccinations." He chuckled.

"So, you wanna hide out upstairs in the library and avoid the work. We're technically guests."

"Well… it is probably best we stay out of Caroline's way." Elena mused subsequently following Damon up to the third floor. They collapsed into the two old brown leather armchairs, facing each other.

"Elena?" Damon asked, looking at her with sincerity, all humour passed.

"Yes, Damon?" She sensed he was going to ask her something relatively important.

"How are you doing, you know with the whole Fourth of July thing? I know you must miss your parents around this time." Elena was taken aback by how sensitive Damon was being. Glancing down she thought about his question. He was right, this was a tough time. For the first fifteen years of her life the scene that was unfolding downstairs would be happening in her own house. Her mom loving any excuse to throw a party. Since their passing it was strange, the Salvatores taking over the responsibility. Although she always enjoyed herself, every year Elena was left thinking wistfully about how it should be different, silently reminded of how your whole world can stop turning and everything else just carried on as normal. Looking up once again, she met Damon's gaze.

"I'm okay. Really, I am." They looked at each other for a few seconds "You know, it still hurts like crap. I'm sure you know what I mean first hand." Damon nodded, having lost his own mother. "It gets easy to deal with, to forget about, but its days like today that are a bitter reminder of all that I've lost."

"So long as you're dealing with it."

"I don't know how I would without coming here every year and being surrounded by you guys." She smiled fondly, wiping away the tears that had formed. "I really am thankful. Thanks Damon."

"Hey, wrong holiday. It's not thanksgiving for another four months." Elena laughed.

"What about you, how are you doing? Your mom used to be here too."

"This time of year isn't usually a problem for me." Elena nodded, understanding. There were few people Elena felt able to open up about her parents to, many had tried to get her to; Aunt Jenna, Bonnie, Caroline even Alaric to name a few. But even Stefan didn't seem to understand like Damon did. There was an understanding between the two, even when they were little Damon acted like a confidante to Elena, the elder brother figure she lacked and as she grew older he was also able to confide in her. There was something about their friendship that Elena realized she'd missed while he was in Chicago. She hadn't noticed it while he was gone so much, but now he was back and with the promise of him being back for the foreseeable future, Elena felt excited.

After that the conversation drifted towards lighter topics, Elena feeling truly comfortable in his presence. All too soon, however they were cut short by the sounds of tyres on the gravel two floors below them, coming through the open window.

"Time to greet the cavalry." Damon rose and then extended a hand to pull Elena up, which she gladly accepted. Her hands were tough, she noted and his arms bulging. He must have stepped up on the work outs in Chicago. Once she was on her feet, she became very conscious of the fact he was effectively holding her hand, as did he evidently, dropping it and rubbing his neck awkwardly. She wasn't sure where this tension between them had come from, but Elena put it down to him being in Chicago for the past eighteen months. She smiled graciously passing him and the two descended the stairs together.

* * *

Giuseppe Salvatore was a plain talking, hard-nosed businessman who had built his law firm up from the ground. He was by no means rude, but he was a proud man who was not shy about what he wanted, a trait mirrored in his son, Damon which made them both hugely successful lawyers. Growing up it had always been Giuseppe who disciplined Damon and Stefan but despite that he was well respected by them both, even Damon whom he hadn't last seen on the best of terms. So when Giuseppe Salvatore announced during the Fourth of July dinner with the guests sat around the outside dining table, everyone looked up to listen.

"It has come to my attention," he began boldly, sounding business like and authoritative, "that my health is on the decline." Every one stared up in disbelief. "I have contracted cancer and have a predicted eighteen months left on God's good earth." He continued. "I fully intend to live as many of those days as possible without decreasing my workload. However upon my death, I would like Damon to become the Salvatore at the head of Salvatore and Associates, hence why I invited you back home, son."

"Because you're dying?!" Damon said in disbelief. "How the hell can you be dying?!"

"I'm sure I do not need to explain death to you, son." Giuseppe maintained his cool tone. "I suppose you are wondering why I have told you at a social gathering, rather than a private moment with my two sons and the answer is this: my illness and my death, like my life, shall not be a spectacle. I am at a table surrounded by the ones I love and the ones who, in turn, love them. I have support, the people who support me have support and at present I am well enough to continue. After this meal I fully intend for us to continue as planned and watch the Mystic Falls fireworks and attend the carnival in the town centre as we have done for years. When you've lived a life as full as I have, death is merely the end of good novel."

"That's crap and you know it!" Stefan stood up.

"Stefan, calm." Giuseppe scolded.

"No! No I won't calm. You're dying! And we're all supposed to play happy families, like Damon actually wants to be here."

"I do-" Damon started.

"I can't… I can't do this right now, I'm sorry." Stefan bundled up his napkin and excused himself from the party. Caroline quickly followed him, stopping to give Giuseppe a quick hug on the way, a gesture he returned, smiling warmly.

A silence fell on the group and after what seemed like an eternity, Bonnie spoke.

"I'm sorry to hear about all of this sir, I thought you'd be announcing you were retiring." He smiled sympathetically. Bonnie worked for the firm as a private investigator, working on the top cases to meet those involved and find new leads and witnesses to strengthen the top cases. Noticing how downcast Bonnie looked at the news, Jeremy shifted his chair closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

All eyes snapped in his direction as Damon began to sob quietly.

"Son… look at me." Damon looked up. "The fight we had was ridiculous and I am sorry to have pushed you away. I do not want to hear you apologize for anything, you understand? Think about how fortunate we are to have this time, the Gilberts did not." Jeremy, Elena and Jenna all lowered their heads, all already thinking about the night Miranda and Greyson Gilbert were projected off of Wickery Bridge. "Remember when your mother passed and I instructed you not to cry?" Damon nodded. "I issue the same instruction, merely requesting you wait until after I am dead to mourn me."

Elena handed Damon a tissue, somehow figuring out exactly what he needed, when Caroline and Stefan reappeared.

"I'm sorry about the way I reacted," Stefan told his father "I understand your request, so in light of this sad news, Caroline and I have something a little more joyous to share that we can… celebrate this evening." He took Caroline's hand and she squeezed his.

"We're having a baby!"

* * *

 **Wow, I'm good at this whole updating thing. Thank you for reading, if you've gotten this far. I'm gonna try update on Wednesdays and Saturdays (or Sundays) so expect the next update on Saturday. I've basically drafted how I want this story to go, I just hope you like my direction.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Conversations

It had been one whole week. A week since Damon's return to Mystic Falls, a week since Guiseppe's announcement and a week since Damon and Elena had been reunited. Honestly, it had been an odd week for the Salvatore, possibly the weirdest of his life, but Elena had been his rock. He had had a busy week at Salvatore and associates and so found himself relaxing on Elena's couch while she sat cross legged in an red armchair as they both tucked into some Lucky Charms.

"Elena." Damon said suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence.

"Hm..?" She looked at him, her chocolate eyes causing his heart to flutter uncharacteristically.

"What was it like… losing your parents?"

Elena swallowed and sat up a little in her seat, caught off guard by his serious questioning. She took a long look at him as though trying to assess his emotions, but as usual he gave little away. His poker face must be useful in court, she thought to herself.

"Honestly?" she took a deep breath, "It was Hell. Pure and utter Hell. To be honest I can't really remember those first few months, but I know I didn't cope well." Damon nodded, prompting her to continue. "I tried to shut people out, and people gave me my distance but it didn't help. I just felt more alone. If it wasn't for Stefan, Caroline and Bonnie's relentless invitations and surprise sleepovers and movie nights, I don't know how I would have coped."

"I wish we'd been closer back then. I wish I could have been there for you." Elena set down her bowl and crossed the room, sitting beside Damon on the red faded leather couch. She rest a hand on his leg reassuringly,

"I'm gonna be here for you, Damon." She met his eyes, which were looking at her with such sincerity that she felt her stomach wobble. "Whatever happens this next year, I'm gonna be by your side annoying the crap out of you because that's what friends do." He smiled at her warmly, nothing needed to be said, and the two were content to just sit looking at each other feeling as though they were in a little bubble of time.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was less than a minute, Damon's phone began to blast an obnoxious rap song. Elena rolled her eyes at the song and Damon chuckled.

"Sorry, I have to take this." He mumbled, standing up and answering his phone as Elena's hand fell back onto the couch. Damon moved through the rooms in Elena's small house effortlessly as though he belonged, and Elena could not help but watch wistfully as he went into the kitchen to talk. She was vaguely aware of the sound of his voice in the kitchen, sounding stern and business-like on what she assumed was a work call, but she was too wrapped up in her own mind to really focus on anything.

A flyaway comment from Caroline at the fourth of July barbeque a week earlier had caused Elena to realize something, Damon's presence awoke within her a feeling she hadn't experienced in quite some time. Elena had had a total of one serious relationship in her life, not counting the summer in her senior year of high school when she had dated Stefan for a brief but fulfilling time before they parted ways as friend. His name had been Liam and they had attended the same college. They met at some lame party and had hit it off almost immediately, Elena thought their relationship to be perfect until she found out he had feelings for someone else. He didn't cheat and Elena had been less phased by the end of their relationship as she thought she would be, but nonetheless she hadn't really felt an attraction to anyone since. Not until Damon.

Last time Damon was in Mystic Falls, she had been in a relationship so she hadn't noticed, or she hadn't let herself notice, just how remarkable he was. Sure, on the surface he may have seemed a little arrogant, very aware of his own good looks and his effortless charm which seemed to attract woman after woman, but beneath the playboy exterior he was so much more. Sweet, caring, considerate weren't traits exclusive to the younger Salvatore brother, Damon was just more exclusive with the people he showed compassion to. In the week that he'd been back, Damon and Elena had fallen into a pattern of talking, or at least texting, every day. Although it had been a busy week for Damon, being introduced to Salvatore and Associates and trying to navigate a business that would eventually become his, but after he got off work, on three occasions he'd called her and they'd gone to the Grill and had drinks. Now, with Damon's presence at her house for breakfast, Elena felt as though it was inescapable. She was falling for Damon Salvatore.

She was brought out of her over thinking when Damon, who had evidently finished his phone call, had crept up behind her and tickled her from behind. Elena had erupted into loud laughter, flailing her limbs in his direction letting out a choked "Damon stahp!" in between breaths. He laughed lightly and resumed his seat beside her.

"Gotcha Gilbert." He winked, the moment they'd shared previously obviously over.

"That's not fair you caught me off guard!" She complained, traces of a grin still on her face.

"You should have been prepared." She rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and pass me the remote control."

"Why?"

"You can't show up unannounced and expect me to skip my Saturday morning trash tv can you? We're watching Catfish."

"Fair enough, I can tolerate that show." Damon re-adjusted the cushions on Elena's couch so he was more comfortable. She smiled up at him before turning her attention to Nev and Max's pseudo detective work on the show. Damon and Elena remained there for the rest of the morning, contented with each other's company, any worries temporarily swept aside.

* * *

Stefan sighed heavily as he pulled up in his red Porsche outside his father's house. Like it or not, Caroline was right and he needed to talk to Giuseppe. He knew his father, and he knew how stubborn he could be, but regardless of whether or not Giuseppe wanted to hear about it, he needed to talk to his father about his options in the event of the further deterioration of his health.

After a few moments of gathering his thoughts, Stefan exited his car and slowly walked down the familiar grey path up to his father's door. As he approached the small house, he took a moment to appreciate the house. Giuseppe had opted to leave the Salvatore boarding house quite some time ago, deciding it to be too big for just himself with Damon and Stefan treading their own paths. And when he couldn't face selling the home in which he'd raised his two sons with his wife, he offered it to his two sons, hoping one of them could give it a new lease of life. Giuseppe had then relocated to a smaller house, still in Mystic Falls, with red bricks and an orchard in place of a back yard. It was picturesque and idyllic, the kind of home his mother would have liked to retire to, Stefan thought, which was probably why Giuseppe had purchased it.

Giuseppe answered the door almost immediately, a look of surprise crossing his face as he registered his youngest son. Stefan took a moment to look at his father, whom he had not seen since the events of the Fourth of July party. Stefan felt sheepish for being surprised at his father's appearance, which was no different from usual. Although Stefan knew medically that his father wouldn't show any signs of his disease for some months yet, Stefan had spent the last week picturing his father as frail and defeated, quite the contrast from the powerful man who currently stood before him.

The two Salvatores walked down the hall until they reached Giuseppe's study.

"In here?" Stefan asked incredulously.

"We're having a re-organization at Salvatore and Associates, the lounge is filled with boxes of case files. In here will be more comfortable." Giuseppe explained, taking a seat behind the desk. Stefan sat opposite.

"I think we should discuss your preparations for the future." Stefan began cautiously, looking at his father.

"That sounds sensible." Giuseppe agreed. "I have drawn up my will already and am in discussions with Damon and my solicitor regarding the future of the law firm."

Stefan felt uncomfortable. He was sat discussing his father's death and again, his father was treating it as though it was just another case or business deal. It all felt artificial, he was used to his father deflecting all emotion, when his mother had passed away, his father had instructed Damon and himself not to cry. His father himself didn't shed a tear, the emotional side of himself seemed to be lost when he lost Lilly, not that he'd ever been the most emotional father growing up, Giuseppe just seemed to cope by not letting his emotions dictate his behaviour, instead being highly rational.

"How do you feel about all of this?" Stefan asked tentatively.

"It's…" Giuseppe considered "an inconvenience, we have just signed some major clients and it will be a shame to not be able to defend them for long." Stefan was quickly losing patience with his father.

"'An inconvenience'?! Dad you're dying!" He balled up his fists, determined not to cry in front of his stony faced father. "What about us? Me, Damon are we supposed to just act like we're going to be okay losing you in the same way we lost mom?! What about my son or daughter? Given your diagnosis you'll only know them for about eight months. Do you not realize all you're going to miss out on? Or is this whole family thing just another 'inconvenience' to you too?" Stefan had finally snapped. "What were you thinking? Telling us over casual dinner. Do we really mean that little to you? Did you not think we care? That's just it isn't it? You don't care about us."

Giuseppe remained calm as ever, but Stefan noted an unfamiliar emotion sweep across his father's face. Slowly Giuseppe got to his feet.

"Go." He said simply, when Stefan didn't move he said "I want you to get back in your car and drive home to your girlfriend. I want you to calm down and sleep on it and then tomorrow afternoon I want you and your brother to return with a clear head to talk about this logically." Stefan nodded and rose from his chair, still full of emotion.

"Oh. And son?" Giuseppe started as almost an after-thought "Of course I care. Yourself and Damon are my priority and always have been and don't you dare think otherwise."

As Stefan got into his car his mind was racing as he replayed the confrontation in his head. It was official, he was never going to understand Giuseppe Salvatore.

* * *

 **Slightly shorter update today, sorry about that I just didn't want to overload the chapter. Thanks to all the people that favorited/reviewed, you don't go unnoticed.**

 **See you on Wednesday:)**


	4. Chapter 4 - Double Date? (part 1)

It was mid-afternoon and Elena had spent the day doing well… not much. She was on a yearlong break from teacher training and only worked three days a week for a Parkinson's charity, she often found herself volunteering extra days out of sheer boredom. When she decided to take a year out, she had expected to fill it with exciting adventures and time focused on herself, but in reality most of her time during the day was spent doing very little. Today, Elena had gone for a run and intended to catch up with the short story she had been writing, but she lacked any kind of focus and instead had found herself watching Seinfeld re-runs in her loose fitting cotton pyjamas, not bothering to put clothes on after her post-run shower.

At around four in the afternoon, Elena's phone began to vibrate on the bed next to her. Glancing down at the caller id, a familiar picture of her aunt taken at the lake by Elena's house and her parent's former cabin, was displayed.

"You, me, Mystic Falls Grill seven sharpish." Her aunt said simply, not even bothering with any greeting.

"Wait what?" Elena responded weakly, trying to refocus her brain.

"Alaric Saltzman called, he and Damon want to take us out for drinks."

"Damon?!" Elena asked more urgently than she intended, suddenly very aware of her reflection in the mirror overlooking her bed. To say her hair was a mess would be an understatement, she hadn't bothered brushing it after her run, simply sweeping it into a bun and trying to forget about it. She was wearing no makeup and heavy bags under her eyes were clearly visible from many nights spent awake reading and her cotton pyjamas suddenly seemed childish and unattractive to Elena. Elena was not usually one to care about how she looked, especially not for a guy, but something about Damon's effortless good looks, despite rarely straying from simple black jeans and a black t-shirt, made her feel plain in comparison.

Her aunt laughed down the line at the sudden panic in Elena's voice. "You've literally spent every weekend together since he got back into town."

"That's different!" Elena persisted. "If you and Ric are there together there's… subtext."

"Subtext?" Jenna repeated incredulously.

"Yes! There's even gender balance, Alaric is obviously crazy about you and is clearly hoping Damon and I will pair off!"

"Pair off?"

"Jenna!"

"Okay, okay. Breathe Elena. It's just drinks, if it was a formal date date, Alaric wouldn't have invited both of us."

"But you and Alaric are obviously into each other."

"And you and Damon aren't?" When Elena didn't respond, she could practically hear the penny drop in her aunt's mind, "You don't know if he likes you back!"

"That's not it." Elena protested feebly, but Jenna saw through her weak lie as though she was looking through glass.

"Elena Gilbert, who has turned down almost every guy in Mystic Falls, has a big fat eighth grade crush on the older boy!" Jenna teased down the line.

"I thought you were supposed to be the responsible adult in my life? You are the one who sounds like an eighth grader."

"That's where you're wrong. That role ended when you turned eighteen, I'm back to being the fun aunt now."

Elena rolled her eyes, and although her aunt couldn't see it, she could definitely predict that response.

"That's it missy, as the fun aunt I am giving you an instruction."

"Wouldn't that be more like the responsible adult?"

"Shut up!"

Elena laughed. "Okay, continue Jenna."

"I am grabbing my make-up and driving out and you and I are going to make sure we enter that bar looking like the two most stunning women Alaric and Damon have ever seen in their entire lives."

"You have nothing to worry about, I on the other hand am gonna need a little longer."

"Then I'll speed."

"Not funny." Elena responded sharply, her mind drifting to her parents, but immediately regretted it when Jenna fell silent. "Sorry Jenna, I'm a little cranky."

"Don't worry about it." Jenna responded, taking a second to recover before returning to her enthusiasm. "I'm on my way."

True to her word, Jenna took almost no time at all to arrive at Elena's house. However the time spent between the phone call and Jenna's arrival had sent Elena spiralling into panic. She had a sizeable amount of space in the master bedroom of the cabin. Elena's parents had both been wealthy and when Elena was a child and they vacationed at the cabin, Elena had wished they'd move there, favouring the distance it gave them from Mystic Falls and the small town drama, provided sanctity and peace whenever Elena needed it.

Currently, however, the master bedroom had descended into chaos. The fluffy white carpet was no longer visible in the majority of the room as Elena pulled out outfit after outfit, reminiscent of Caroline's crisis every time she prepared for a date in high school, of which there were many. All of a sudden, it seemed Elena had nothing suitable for the evening's affairs, although the invitation was seemingly gleaming with subtext, Elena had no idea of what would be appropriate to wear. She didn't want to come over like she'd tried too hard, but she wanted to hint to Damon that she wanted him to admire her.

She conceded defeat after ten minutes of rummaging and laid down on the bed awaiting her aunt's arrival. Jenna arrived soon after, and threw a bag onto the bed beside Elena, making her jump with surprise.

"Right!" Jenna clasped her hands together. "Let's get to work!"

Thankfully, Jenna neglected to make any more jibes at her niece's plainly panicked state, instead tackling the clothes mountain head on, separating clothes into one huge pile and one sizeably smaller as Elena stood beside her, amused at her aunt's sudden military organisation. When she had done, she lifted the smaller pile to the bed, and began to set out outfits for Elena to try on.

All of them showed more skin than Elena was used to, typically favouring simple jeans and casual shirts, none-the-less Elena carefully took the outfits and tried them on one by one in the en-suite bathroom. Eventually they agreed on a simple black pencil skirt, that rested several inches above Elena's knee in a flirty and yet not distasteful fashion. They accompanied it with a simple deep purple swing vest which nicely offset the tightness of the skirt and hinted slightly at cleavage. Satisfied with the clothing choice they got to work on make-up.

"Your mom would have loved this." Jenna mumbled as she curled her own hair. "Helping me get dolled up for a date was one of her favorite pass-times."

"I imagine dad wouldn't have been quite so thrilled about his precious young daughter going out with an" Elena put on a deeper voice "older boy." Jenna laughed loudly, setting down the curling iron and giving her hair one last blast of hairspray.

"Stand up." Jenna demanded, crossing the room to where Elena was sat, adjusting her tights. Elena did as she was told and was taken aback by Jenna's long arms engulfing her in a hug.

"I know this is stepping back into the border of responsible adult territory, but I am so proud of you Elena." Elena was silent for a few moments as they hugged. When they stepped aside, Jenna grinned broadly. "Now, Let's go get wasted!"

* * *

It took the whole of about twenty seconds for Elena to lock eyes with Damon as she entered the familiar bar. He and Alaric had commandeered a booth and Alaric was enthusiastically beckoning them over, Damon on the other hand was pre-occupied with examining Elena's body, filling Elena with nervous excitement as her aunt leaned in and whispered,

"I see we got jackpot on the outfit."

As they arrived at the booth, Elena slid in beside Damon who quickly established contact, briefly giving her a gentle side hug. Alaric gestured to the drinks set out on the table, revealing that he and Damon had ordered for them.

"Apple martini for the beautiful lady." He grinned making Jenna flush deep scarlet.

"And a jack and coke for the smoker." Damon winked at Elena sending her mind into overdrive, her heart beating at twice its normal rate.

"You don't look so bad yourself." Elena noted, turning to look at him. As she had predicted, he was wearing tidy black jeans and a black t-shirt, accompanied by a dark leather jacket slung over the chair beside him. The main focus of Damon's appearance however, as always was his eyes. Icy pools Elena felt a blush rise to her cheeks when she looked into, but could barely look away. Literally every romance novel Elena had ever read droned on about getting lost in the eyes of a tall dark stranger, and Elena had rolled her eyes through each cheesy line, but with Damon the words rang true and she was incredibly attracted to him.

She looked away abruptly, noticing she had been making eye-contact for quite some time as she glanced across the table at Jenna and Alaric who were too wrapped up in each other to notice anyone else.

"Yep, we've lost 'em." Damon grinned.

"Makes me wonder why we were invited."

"Oh, I think you know that." Damon gave a flirtatious smirk.

There was a definite shift in the atmosphere of when Elena and Damon usually hung out. Several times after he had finished work, Damon would call Elena and they'd sit in the bar casually as though they'd been friends for years. This time though, there was purpose. Elena could smell Damon's cologne a lot stronger and he hadn't just come back from the office, his hair neater than its usual untidy state, and he was no longer wearing a suit, undone at the collar with a tie hanging loosely.

No today, like Elena had, Damon had made a conscious effort with his appearance and as such there were romantic undertones on par with the tension between the two which could be cut with a knife. Elena had a sense that tonight would be a turning point, and the thought both terrified her and electrified her.

"So then Salvatore," she dragged out the syllables of his name and looked up at him innocently, "what exactly is my purpose this evening?"

Damon simply deepened his smirk, leaning in towards her like he was about to reveal some secret and whispering in her ear,

"Patience is a virtue, Gilbert."

"Oh so you have some kind of plan?"

"Not as such, however I am not one to play all of my cards before the night is out."

Elena laughed lightly and rested her hand on his thigh,  
"You seem to be underestimating me. I have a few tricks up my own sleeve."

Damon was seemingly flummoxed by her response, despite her not really saying very much. He grinned at her and turned to his drink. It was Alaric who spoke next.

"So I am curious to hear how Jenna was responsible enough to guide two adolescents through the end of high school. I deal with high school kids daily and they are tough." Elena laughed and the four fell into easy conversation, Elena recounting the time when Jenna called to school to say Elena and Jeremy were sick when they took an impromptu vacation to New York to visit some of Jenna's high school friends to help heal Jeremy's first heartbreak and various other tales, whilst Alaric shared a few of his own of he and Damon's more ridiculous escapades. He had just finished a story about one of his and Damon's drunken nights out which had ended with a sheep in their hotel room when a wicked grin spread across Damon's face and he turned to Jenna.

"Have you ever heard the story about Elena in Cali?" Elena shot Damon a death glare as he lightly traced a finger on her thigh.

"On the vacation you guys went on for Stefan's 21st?" Jenna turned to her neice. "Elena neglected to tell me that story."

"Well-" Damon begun but was immediately cut off by Elena.

"Nuh-uh. No way are you telling her this story."

"I wanna hear it!" Jenna pouted, her and Alaric notably more drunk than Damon and Elena.

"I guarantee you don't, Jenna." Elena countered.

"Please! I need to be able to embarrass you. You're like your mom, you were always the sensible one, I have so much stuff over Jeremy but you, nada!" Damon laughed.

"Okay how's this, I'll tell you the story if, and only if, I can tell Stefan about what you did to his car after you graduated." Elena bargained.

"Ooh the car he was fixing up from the age of seven?" Alaric leaned forward, grinning at Damon. "Do tell, Elena."

"Okay Gilbert, you've effectively silenced me."

Simultaneously, Jenna and Alaric groaned causing them to burst into a fit of nervous giggles eloping into their private bubble as they had before. Damon smirked at Elena.  
"Well played, well played."

"Why thank you." She responded and drained the last of her drink. "Another round?"

"Actually I was thinking we could give the love birds their privacy." They both looked back to Jenna and Alaric who were kissing each other tenderly but sloppily given the alcohol they had consumed. Elena nodded, Jenna was not her mom, but she still felt weird watching her make out with her boyfriend.

"Good idea. We could go back to my place?" Elena offered. "I'm pretty sure I have some bourbon and the lake looks nice at this time of night."

"Sounds enticing." They stood up together.

"Wha-where are you going?" Jenna asked, breaking apart from Alaric to look up at them.

"Home. The cab's coming in fourty-five minutes for you two. Don't forget." Elena reminded Jenna.

"Yes mom." Jenna rolled her eyes.

"That's a good point actually." Damon turned to the brunette as they exited the bar into the crisp night air. "How am I gonna get home if I drive to your place and drink? Any more and I am over the limit." He brought his icy blue eyes to meet Elena's and she looked at him sincerely and answered,

"Stay."

* * *

 **Sorry I missed Wednesday but at the end of next week all of my exams will be done!**

 **Hope you liked this lighter chapter, given the last few have been pretty heavy.**


	5. Under Construction!

Hi guys! I have returned (kind of) I'm gonna be editing this story and reworking it so it is better structurally and grammatically. I wasn't pleased with it so I gave up but fear not for I am back.


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